For Whom the Bells Toll
by OCfan11
Summary: Neo is positive she's dead because she swore to never step foot on another farm for as long as she lived.
1. Chapter 1

Neopolitan can feel fear, but there's a reason why Grimm aren't attracted to her. _She_ doesn't need any _emotion muting semblance_.

Not when there are illusions.

The biggest emotions are joy and flatline. The thrill – usually after destroying those who think Neo is weak – and the apathy. There is the range of emotions between the two – surprise, anger, _fear_ – but those are the only real emotions she feels. The only ones to break through the facades. The Grimm do not sense her if they cannot see her. The Apathy do not effect her because of how hard it is to connect. _What's the point? _

Neo knows she will survive the gross flocks of Nevermores in Vale's sky. Their inky black is suffocating, making the world difficult to view as they swarm. Of her two emotions, Neo has flatlined. Feels nothing all that strongly. Sure, she worries and fears for Roman, is rather upset about the height she's floating at, but not one emotion is releasing scents and signals to the Grimm around her. Neo will make it.

_But Roman_-

The screams are too much and the sky is swallowed by feathery bodies. Neo tucks her legs up and squeezes her eyes. She will not let go of the umbrella. She will not _die_ here.

She _won't_.

On the back of her eyelids, the last glimpse of Remnant. The airship going up in flames. It's all too must as she holds her aura past breaking point. Illusions are splintering, Neo is breaking, and just as her reserves hit below bottom- beyond the endless stress and strain, _why hasn't she landed_-

The world goes quiet.

Neopolitan blinks, but she can't be seeing right. It's too dark and there's no Grimm. Just fields upon open fields. She unwinds from her ball, illusion smashed to pieces and bone tired. She has nothing left to fight with as she floats through the sky. Nowhere left to hide.

The lower she goes, the louder a small tune plays in her mind. With nothing to distract her, it's very noticeable. It's a repeating sound, soft, and something that brings forth memories of easier times. The times when leaves began to brown and frost would-

_No_.

Suffice to say, Neo doesn't like it. Especially as she keeps drifting lazily over what appears to be farmland. The woman's grip on her umbrella is suffocating. She's easily floating above it all, but the sight makes her want to gag through the suspicion.

Where are the Grimm? Where is she?

The drifting continues, the breeze faltering. So begins the decent. Her lips curl down at the edges as lights become brighter, a house clearer through the nighttime shadows. The background music is stronger. Touchdown in five, four, three.

Her toes overbalance on the gate.

Two.

One.

Only a little wobble as she drops to the ground. Neo snaps the umbrella closed, bladed tip still out. She glares at the peace, the familiar smell of turned dirt and fresh harvest. The air is still and no Grimm in sight.

_What a lie._

The only reason Neo doesn't turn back is for the tilled and desperately growing farmland beyond the gate. She'll go around if she has too, but first to find out where she is. Find out what happened at Vale. What happened to Roman.

Her fingers claw around the umbrella before swinging it over a shoulder. Tip slides away. No need to scare the locals… _yet_.

Neo doesn't care, but she knows how to act. Never did she think she'd windup so far in the boonies again, but life is all about the _unexpected_. If Roman truly didn't make it, then revenge will be sweet. Cinder deserves at least a smackdown for all her crazy actions. Ruby is a young brat trying to save the world, _but if she killed Roman_-

Neo grimaces. Best not to think like that. The background music makes it especially hard to get truly angry. _Ugh_, where is it even coming from?

The sun begins to rise as Neo walks on cobblestone. She stares, unimpressed by how _quaint_ it all is. Wherever she landed, it's not the grey of Vale or the housing styles of Mistral. Hopefully it's not another cult. While interesting to watch, not so fun to be dragged into. With a little rest she'll be able to fight her way out of here, but that still gives this settlement time to interact with her.

Neo follows the signs to an inn. A man looking fit for such greying hair greets her, surprised to see a visitor so early. Neo grins and plays the bashful cute look, easy to get away with her height even if she _loathes_ putting on the act. In the end she writes out her request for a room, as he doesn't understand her signing.

"Ah, one moment please," he – Jake – bends over to grab a card reader. "Normally people pay with straight G, so it may take a moment for this to work."

Neo's schooled her questioning expression into a pleasant one by the time he's standing. Her lien card works fine, though the man freezes a little at what he sees.

"Would you like to see how much you have left?" he clears his throat, handing the card back. This time, Neo can't help the furrowed eyebrows because _left?_ She thought she may have to use another card to pay, that maybe she could play the runaway or homeless teenager to get out of it. With a slow nod she takes the receipt.

It barely made a dent in the card. When he said 120G, she expected 120,000 lien. Very pricey for a single night in the middle of nowhere, however there isn't much choice right now. But no.

120 lien.

If everything here is priced like that, she can last a month at the least.

"My wife Colleen and my mother Yolanda will be serving and cooking breakfast in a few hours," Jake tells her, breaking Neo from her thoughts. It's easy to slide the receipt and card away like nothing's wrong. Like she might not be suddenly rich. "Lunch begins are noon, and dinners can be served at the bar a level below us. I'll show you to your room."

Neo smiles sweetly, umbrella tip dropping out just in case. She hides it behind her back, keeping out of sight as he stops to unlock the door. The man gives her the key, and Neo smiles her culturally polite _thanks_.

"Thank you for doing business with us," the man – Jake, have to remember that – smiles warmly back. As if nothing is wrong. "It was nice to meet you, Neopolitan."

The hand around the umbrella spasms while she waves. Once he's out of sight, Neo flings herself in and hurries to the shower. If they're going to call the police on her, she'll make sure to leave a lasting impression before she runs. Showers are always great for aura replenishments, after all.

Ten minutes and no one banging at her door, Neo explores the room. There is a tourist book, all about Castanet Island. No clue where that is, Neo reads and figures out she's really far from civilization. They don't use words like Scrolls or CCT but do have a television station. It's all farmland and mining and fishing around here. Neo is just about ready to stab the wall at no mention of Grimm when she realizes something.

Not one to delve into religious thoughts, Neo just assumed she'd have gone on until she dropped. And not even a few hours ago she did that.

Literally. Floated down from sky.

And now she's apparently rich, there are no Grimm to be heard of, and background music plays at all time. Music that won't let her get worked into her normal stabbing anger. She can't use her aura to walk on water, and the only other way out is to walk through miles of farmland.

Either she was mistakenly put in the Good Place, or this is purgatory. Neo drops the book, umbrella, any semblance of emotion. She is dead. Has to be. The Grimm don't just vanish, and Vale's city wasn't known for its farms.

She. Is. Dead.

Which means she likely won't be able to leave and look for Roman. Or kill Cinder like they planned. What is the world even coming to; she'll likely have to play nice with these people in order to have a _chance_ at leaving. This is retribution for all the dead she's left behind, isn't it? They're going to make her _farm_, aren't they?

Neo swallows a whimper. Yet still doesn't go into shock. A flatline of emotions where she can think clearly, analytically, and not jump to conclusions. If she isn't dead, then she leaves in a few hours. If she's forced to stay, don't accept the futility until a couple days where Grimm either overrun this place or news of Beacon's fall comes.

If nothing comes… let the true colours show.

Neo nods and settles against the headboard. Good planning. She can do this. The nightmare will be over soon one way or another.

Neo closes her eyes and pretends the burning airship isn't still replaying behind them.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Story of Seasons, Harvest Moon, or RWBY franchises. All rights belong to their respective owners.**

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm not totally sure where this story is going. All I do know is no canonical pairings. And Neo adjusting to a world without monsters (a Rune Factory crossover probably would have been more interesting but whatever). **

**I hope everyone has a fantastic day**

**Thank you for at least attempting to read this strange crossover**


	2. Chapter 2

No one shows up to arrest her, so that's good. Unfortunately, the nightmare is still going. The music even has a bit more pep to its step. Neo illusions the creases and dirt off her clothing, strolling out of the room like she's not thinking about killing the townies. First, find out what's going on. Where she is. Are there any hunters or huntresses around.

All these answers and more come in the form of an annoying orange haired, girl-ish woman. The daughter Jake didn't mention he has. _Maya_.

The old woman – smaller than even Neo – appears to be the only one who realizes the threat in the room. She doesn't take her eyes off the heeled, umbrella carrying woman. Neo doesn't look at Yoland beyond their initial introduction, when Maya and her mother took the lunch order, but always keeps her in the corner of her eye. Smiles a little shark-ish when Maya isn't looking. It's fun making others _twitch_.

Neo smiles and nods, making awed expression in all the right places. In reality, she's emotionally spent and not enjoying this info-dump one bit. The girl-woman's voice grates on her nerves; Maya is one of those always-happy always-bubbly girls who bounces back from whatever life throws. Neo knew someone-

_Don't think about it._

-like that, but that person's long dead. It's not all smiles and rainbows, and _sparkles_. Must be the girl-woman's semblance with how much sparkles fall around her. But Neo plays nice, learns the crops aren't growing like they used to. The wind is barely pushing the windmills. The water is too slow here, and too rough out at seas. Even the fires they build are losing strength.

Neo fantasizes about burning down the farmlands. Surely that would prove it's all these people's imaginations. Could even be good for the soil.

"Oh, will you be here for the Moon Viewing festival?" Maya asks, innocent to her tablemate's thoughts. "It is this Saturday, and there's a possibility of shooting stars this year!"

Neo writes out, '_What's the Moon Viewing Festival'_, like she cares. She _really_ doesn't.

"We watch the full moon rise on the clearest night of the year! It's so lovely, and so romantic! Everyone goes to Flue Fields to watch it, and sometimes a bell will ring out to signify what blessing we will have next month."

Neo struggles to keep her harmless smile. 'A bell?'

"Oh yes!" Maya claps her hands excitedly. "There are bells all over the island, curtesy of the Harvest Goddess. Or that's how the legend goes. When the bells ring, they restore the land to its beauty and splendor!"

_Oh no_, Neo realizes as her teeth grind behinds her smile. _It_ is _a small-town cult_. At least they worship a woman, too many problems are scattered through Remnant because the main religion is two brother Gods. It's very suspicious how nice how everyone has been. She'll keep an ear out for more of what this… _Harvest Goddess_ does.

If there's a blood sacrifice, Neo's going to be the one doing the cutting, not being the one cut.

'_It was nice meeting you_,' Neo lies. '_I really must be going now_.'

"O-okay! I hope to see you again!"

_I don't_, Neo waves, not looking back.

However, she doesn't make it out of town – Harmonica Town, _which Neo wants to know_ _whose bright idea it was to add background music to a town named after an instrument_ – because apparently someone did get told about her arrival. Jake must have informed the mayor, because he waits for her by the bridge.

"You must be Neopolitan." It's odd how short he is. Not Neo's height, but Maya and her parents were a few inches off six-feet. Because of aura, most people grow tall fast.

(_Because of trauma-_

_Don't think about it.)_

She shakes his hand such that the illusions don't break.

"I do understand sign language," he explains before she can pull out some paper. "So do a few others around the island. Ah, but that wasn't what I was here to talk about." There's a greedy glint to his face that Neo only knows because-

(_Don't go there_.)

-she grew up always seeing it. She didn't grow up with money, and it occurs to her that now she has some. An unknown rich, mute woman. What else could the mayor-

"-old farm house, you probably saw it on your way by-"

Okay. It's _worse_ than she thought.

He wants her to buy this… farmhouse. To rebuild it. To _farm_ on it. The illusions almost drop as she has a physically adverse reaction to the idea. The mayor – Hamilton – pretends not to notice and ramps up the sales pitch. "You can do whatever you want with the property once you own it, of course, and maybe you'll think of buying the areas around it. Oh, but the path must stay. You see, it's the only area connected to all three settlements on this island. Not that many travels between them, they're long walks some days. It's even longer to get to another town." His eyes gleam. "At the very least, I can rent it cheap until someone can bring you back to the city."

Neo could run. Flat out sprint in high heels and jump away if need be.

She doesn't want to stay – doesn't want to go _near_ this shady deal – but…

What is there to go back to? At least this way she can sacrifice the villagers to Grimm when the monster turn up. Where would she even go? She doesn't recognize any of the names, has no idea what a 'phone' is and why the tourist guide said only 'landlines' work. Neo is not _stuck_, but she sure is lost. Her scroll is missing, she has lots of money by this island's standpoint and- is it the music turning her thoughts towards staying?!

She really is in purgatory. At least she still wants to smack this guy for trying to take advantage of her. Thank everything for the stronger emotions.

"What do you think?" Mayor Hamilton asks.

Neo nods before she even realizes it. _What have I done?!_

Hours later – and a mayor's desk with a few new 'accidental' holes in it – Neo stares in horror at the pieces of wood that don't even deserve to be called a _shack_. Really, what was she even thinking? A first glimpse inside and she's honestly shocked no water damage has come from the broken roof. The bed is made of straw – gross – and there's a calendar with only twenty-eight days per season.

Now Neo knows she is dead. That or dropped on this island like she's supposed to save it from drying up. The first makes much more sense, seeing as magic doesn't exist and the only way to save these people are a miracle. Which Neo is not. At all. She is _not_ going to come to terms with the most traumatizing memories of her life in order to save a bunch of cultist civvies.

So why is she here? Either the Grimm slaughter them all or Neo has to suck it up and try to get out. If this backwater town becomes too much, she'll face the flashbacks and emotional upheaval that is the risk of crossing through the farmland fields. That, or she'll learn to walk on water and escape the moment the ocean calms down.

_This is going to suck._

The one working lightbulb in the house flickers and goes dead.

_Correction: it already sucks._

Neo breathes as calmly as she can. Gather nails and wood. Jumps to her roof and begins hammering it in with her own palm. As least she still has aura.

With no other clothes, _no real closet_, at least she still has her semblance.

At least death can't take that away from her.


End file.
